FutureChurch Plans Celebrations to Honor Nuns

"St. Mary of Magdala was a foremost leader in the early Church, led the group of women who accompanied Jesus at his death, and first proclaimed the good news of his Resurrection. But for centuries she was maligned as a forgiven prostitute even though there is no evidence in Scripture" said England

"A focal point of the celebrations will be "unheard homilies" given by women who are not permitted to preach at Mass," said FutureChurch executive director Sr. Christine Schenk. "At present, women's voices are silenced in Catholic churches.  Stories of biblical women are omitted or made optional in our lectionary and women, indeed all lay people, have recently been forbidden to preach at Mass even though canon law allows it. "

"When the Vatican maligns U.S. nuns, its hard not to see it as yet another example of systemic sexism" said England. "If we restore the female diaconate, women will be permitted to preach at Mass and exercise at least some governance functions in the Church. This will begin a process of including women in church decision making," she said.

Since 1997 FutureChurch has organized between 300 and 400 St. Mary of Magdala celebrations each summer. The prayer services work to correct the mistaken idea that St. Mary of Magdala was a prostitute, educate about women leaders in Church history and model gender balance in prayer and scripture proclamation.

For information about locations of public celebrations visit http://www.futurechurch.org/marym/celebrations.htm